1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to motor vehicles, and particularly to a vehicle flotation system for keeping such vehicles afloat in the event that they become immersed in water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional land or ground motor vehicles are not adapted for immersion in water. While a very limited number of special use land vehicles have been constructed or manufactured to permit their limited use as watercraft, it is generally impractical to adapt the structure of a conventional land motor vehicle to provide for flotation solely due to displacement by the body shell. Normally this is of no great consequence, as the normal operating environment of such land vehicles precludes their immersion in water. The vast majority of such vehicles never experience more than a couple of inches of rainwater in a puddle, or perhaps the fording of a very shallow stream.
Nonetheless, there are emergency situations in which such land vehicles may encounter deeper water. One such example is during flash flood conditions, when a river or stream suddenly overflows its banks. This can result in water levels suddenly increasing to several feet within a minute or less, as water floods down a street, road, or canyon. The occasional large volume burst water main can produce similar conditions in a very localized area. Such emergencies can result in an automobile or other vehicle being quickly washed away and/or submerged, through no fault of the motorist.
In addition, there have been numerous occasions where a motorist inadvertently allows his or her vehicle to enter a large and relatively deep body of water. Such accidents have been known to occur when the motorist takes a wrong turn on a dark night and inadvertently drives into a river or lake, or perhaps when the vehicle suffers a mechanical failure (e.g., loss of the brakes) that allows the vehicle to enter the water against the attempts of the motorist to stop the vehicle. Accidents wherein one or more vehicles are pushed into a body of water after a collision have also been known to occur.
As a result of the above, there has been some interest in providing land motor vehicles with some form of flotation means to prevent the vehicle from sinking after immersion in a body of water, or to salvage the vehicle after such immersion or submersion. An example of such is found in Japanese Patent No. 11-286,213, published on Oct. 19, 1999. This publication describes (according to the drawings and English abstract) an automobile safety system having water and impact sensors that will open the door glass and/or sunroof of the vehicle when activated. The system will also inflate a normally uninflated float to add some buoyancy to the vehicle.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a vehicle flotation system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.